Apparatus for making french cord binding



June 3, v KAISER APPARATUS FOR MAKING FRENCH CORD BINDING Filed March 28, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTO Fl'G .l4-. J6. FIGJZ n.6,

ATTOENEJ.

JOSEPH mm.

June 3, 1952 J. KAISER APPARATUS FOR MAKING FRENCH .CORD BINDING Filed March 28. 1949 I 2 SHEETSSi-EET 2 FIG. 22.

IN VEN IOR. J 05EPH mum.

F 5 F1625. H6126. FIGZZ' FIGZS. 7

A TTORNE Y Patented June 3, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR MAKING FRENCH CORD BINDING 4 Claims.

This invention relates to sewing machine apparatus for making French cord bindings and the like.

Several separate and distinct steps are required in making this type of binding by conventional methods and with conventional apparatus. The first step requires that a strip of binding be stitched along one of its edges to the material which is to be bound, the stitching to take place along an appropriate edge of said material. The binding is then folded over around said edge of the material to the opposite side thereof and it is there secured by means of an adhesive. The binding is then stitched along its adhesive secured edge to said material and the work is complete. Greatcare must be taken to fold the binding uniformly around the edge of the material which is being bound, and equal care must be taken to hold it securely in place by means of the adhesive. The folding operation is timeconsuming and costly, and further time is wasted in cementing the folded binding down. Furthermore, the several handling operations are timeconsuming since they do not take place at the same time or on the same machine.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of mechanical means for automatically folding the binding over the edge of the material which is to be bound and holding it in folded position preparatory to the second stitching operation. This folding and holding action takes place on the very sewing machine Which is to be used in the second stitching operation. It takes place automatically as the binding and the material are fed to said machine. Eliminated are the separate folding and the cementing operations and all that is, required is to feed the material to which the binding has previously been fastened by means of the first stitching operation to the sewing machine on which the second stitching operation is to take place.

The folding and holding mechanism of the present invention does not comprise an accessory or attachment in the sense that an additional part or parts are added to the sewing machine which is conventionally used in stitching operations. Instead, conventional parts of the machine are used in modified form, and hence the machine as a whole, with the exception of these modified parts, remains unchanged and unencumbered by means of accessories, attachments and the like. Specifically, three parts have been modified: the presser foot, the feed dog, and the throat plate. These modified parts may be incorporated into the sewing machine in precisely the same manner that their unmodified counterparts are therein incorporated. They are attached to the machine in the same way and they function in the same way, except that the folding and holding operations above described have been added.

The throat plate is provided with a rounded roove which receives the material and the binding (one edge of which has previously been stitched to the material) and folds said binding around the edge of the material. The feed dog is provided with a series of teeth formed on its side edge and these teeth engage the folded binding to complete the folding operation by pulling the binding taut in its folded condition. The

presser foot is provided with a horizontally extending finger which then holds said folded binding in taut folded position on said material and the needle is then enabled to stitch the folded binding to said material. These several operations take place in the order stated. They are continuous operations in the sense that time intervals are not required to space said operations, since there is a substantially continuous movement of the material and its bindin through said parts.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a mechanism of the character described which is adjustable to accommodate material and binding of different thicknesses and which is also adjustable for different types of stitches and stitching.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a piece of material having a V-shaped cut-out formed therein and "French cord binding along the edges of said V-shaped cut-out.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section through said material and through said French cord binding on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the material and the binding engaged by a sewing machine needle and also showing the preferred angle of inclination or penetration.

Fig. 4 is a back view of the presser foot of the resent invention.

Fig. 5 is a left side View thereof.

Fig. 6 is a top view thereof.

Fig. 7 is a front view thereof.

Fig. 8 is a right side view thereof.

Fig. 9 is a right side view of the throat plate of the present invention.

. foot, the feed dog. and the throat plate in assembly 1 or operative relationship toward each other and also showing how a piece of material with abind-e ing strip fastened thereon is fed therethrough for the folding, holding andstitching operationsabove described. 7

1 Fig. is a front view of said presser foot, feed dog and throat plate shown in their assemblyor p rative positions relative to each other.

Fi 21- is a rightside view thereof. V Fig. 22 is aleft side view thereof. Fig. 2315 a top view thereof. Fig. z l is a sectional view on the line 24-24 of Fig. 23, showing one of the adjustment features of the mechanism.

Fig. 25 is a fragmentary view of a piece of leather and a r p of bin in attached alon one edge'thereto, prior'to feeding said leather and binding to the apparatus of the present invention.

. 1 Fi 2 6 show e fi s steooroperation where i in a groove in. the throat plate receives said.

leather and binding and curls thebinding around the ed e of-the leather.

27 shows .the next step in the process wherein side teeth of the feed dog en age the binding. and draw it up taut in its said folded condition,

Fig. 28 shows the, final step the process, preparatory to the actual. stitching operation wherein a finger on the presser foot engages said taut binding and holds it tightly against the leather preparatory to the. stitching operation, said viewalso showing how thepresser foot turns 1 the leather to its. appropriate angular position relative to the needle for the stitching operation.

The material 30 with respect. to. which the op-f erations hereinabove and hereinafter described take lac ma-y be any suitable. material of the,

typethat conventionally receives a. French cord.

binding. It may be made ofzleather of the. type.

used ii -making handbags and the uppersof shoes.

It shouldibe reasonably flexible since, as Fig. 19

clearly shows,.it is necessary to flex or curve the material as itfeeds through the. machine. The

binding 31 which is applied tothismaterialin'the form of French cord binding may be of any suitable material, such as ribbon,'ta'p,e, or binding of textile fabric, leather, plastics or artificial or simulated leather. It should, of course, be relatively flexible for folding around the. edgesof mal terial 3,0. For purposes of convenience and clarity, howevenmaterial 3.0 will hereinafter be designated as leather and binding- 3l. will hereinafter be d signated simply as, binding.

features which havebeen incorporated into a conventional presserfoot, feeddog and throatplate by applicant. These threeelements will hereinafter. be described in the. order in which they are encountered by-leather 30. and binding 31. i It will be seen in Fig. 19 that one edge of the 7 binding is stitched along one :or more edges of the. leather. This is done prior to the time the apparatus incorporating the. presentlinveiitionis 65 The invention herein claimed is based upon the used, and it is in this condition that the leather and the binding first encounter said apparatus.

The condition in which the leather and the binding appear prior to feeding them into the machine is shown in Fig. 25. Throat plate 35 is the first of the three elements above described which they encounter. It will be noted especially in Figs. 11 and 26 that the throat plate is provided with a groove 36 which 'extendslong-itudinally thereof, and it will be noted that it is into said groove that the leather and the binding are introduced. Wall 3'! which defines the right side of the groove is disposed on substantially a vertical plane. Wall 38 which defines the left side of the groove is inclined at an angle of approximately to the verticalat the entrance to said groove, but it curls upwardly towards the back of the groove until it attains a substantially vertical plane. At the entrance to the groove, walls 31 and 38 are separated by approximately At the back of the groove, they are separatedby approximately 10, so that each wall is approximately 5 ofi the perpendicular. The bottom of the groove is rounded and it may, therefore, .be

described as being substantially H-shaped in cross-section in its back portion. Asthe leather.

and its binding enter said groove 36, the curved walls thereof curl the bindingin the manner shown in Fig. 26 around the edge-of the leather.

The binding is not yetinproper position and con-. dition forthe stitching operation, since it has not been pulled far enough or taut enough up against the leftside of the leather, as seen in said Fig, v26.

In all other respects but one, throat plate 35 is conventional. It includes a pair of legs 4i! and 4|, respectively, and .a bridge 42 supported by said legs. Backwardly facing teeth 4.3 are provided on said bridge and longitudinally extending grooves 44 and i5 are also provided in said bridge. Legs 43% and 4! have holes 46 and i'lformed therein so that they may be attached to the machine by means of screwsanda recess 43 is formed in said bridge for reasons. which will shortly appear. The-throatplate is fixed upon the machine to immobilize it during the course ofv the operation hereinabove and hereinafter described.

The second step in the process is best shown, 2

in Fig; 27 where it is seen that the folded binding is engaged by feed dog 5a. This feed dog is alsov conventional in every respect but two. It has a Qi-Y P r n. 5 to which c m fo lowin yo e 52 is attached and, backwar-dly extending teeth 53 are formed atop said body portion. These eth e c s o ed i osnaced rows 54 and 55..

p ve y. which fit in oeroo es. t4 and 4.5. of he h o ate. hus a the. fee dog is conventional.

Teeth E9 are. provided on the right side. of the feed clog, immediately below its teeth 53 which form; row 55; and at the, front end of said row. As Figs. 18 and 27 clearly show, these teeth are situated for engagement with that portion ofthe binding which was folded-across the edgeof the leather and up along its oppositeside. Teeth 6o.

reisubst ntially. horizoritahalthough in the; pre-.

ferredform of this invention, they are inclined at an angle of approximately. 25 to the horizontal. :Itwill beunderstood that the. feeddog has av conventional movement. during the course of theoperation of the machine, that isit moves backwardly, then downwardly, then forwardly,

then upwardly, then once again backwardly.--

The teeth-point upwardly and they, therefore,

are enabled to engage the binding on thei r'up ward movement and thereby to draw the binding into. taut folded position around the edge of the leather. These teeth function in the manner of ratchet teeth on their downward movement and theythereby disengage the binding. Figs. 18 and 2'7 show how teeth 60, in their upward movement, draw the binding taut around the leather.

f1he next step in the process involves presser foot 78. It will be seen that the presser foot has a shank H with a hole .12 formed therein by which it maybe fastened to the appropriate part of the sewing machine. it rests upon the work, and said skid'may be pivotally connected at 14 to the foot portion 15 at the bottom of shank i 4. Thus far' the presser foot is conventional.

Adjustably fastened to the skid of the presser foot by means of screws 80 is a bracket 8|. This bracket dips downwardly in front of the presser foot, as Figs. 5 and 8 clearly show. At its lowermost position, a finger 82 is formed which curves leftwardly from said bracket 8|. Part of the finger and spaced from it is a leftwardly extending arm 84, and a channel 85 is thereby formed between said arm 84 and said finger 82.

Fig. 28 clearly shows that leather 3!! and binding 3| folded tightly upon it, pass through channel 85 in such manner that finger 82 tends to hold the binding tightly against the side of the leather.

It will be noted in Figs. 26 and 27, that the leather is in relatively vertical position when it encounters the groove in the throat plate and the side teeth on the feed dog. Finger 82, however, lies substantially on a horizontal line and arm 84 is inclined slightly away from the horizontal in the sense that its contacting edge extends leftwardly and upwardly to the extent of approximately 15 off the horizontal. It is, therefore, the case that when the leather and its binding enter groove 85, they are compelled to turn leftwardly and sidewardly to the angular position shown in Figs. 3, 19 and 28. The leather and its binding are now ready for the final stitching operation, and it will be seen that needle 98 engages the leather and its binding at an angle of between 75 and 80 or approximately to off the perpendicular. This has an important advantage. The leather will generally be found to be more resistant to penetration of the needle than the binding. In consequence, penetration of the needle into the leather has the effect of pushing the leather downwardly and to the right as viewed in Figs. 3 and 28. Since penetration into the binding proceeds without measurable resistance, there will be no corresponding pressure upon the binding urging it to move in the same direction, that is downwardly and to the right. Hence, it will be clear that the needle not only stitches the leather and the binding to each other, but it also assists in pushing the leather more tightly into the fold of the binding, thereby producing a more satisfactory product. The sewing operation is now complete.

It will not be apparent why recess 48 was provided in the bridge of the throat plate. This recess provides clearance for finger 82 of the presser foot, as Figs. 19, 20 and 21 clearly show. A corresponding recess or cut-out 5'! is formed immediately behind side teeth cc of the feed dog and in that row of teeth which is designated in the drawing by means of the reference character 55. This cut-out also provides the necessary clearance for finger 82.

It will be seen in Fig. 15 that a hole 58 is provided in said row of teeth 55 for needle 90.

It has a skid 13 by which Reference to Fig. 6 will disclose the fact that. a backwardly extending finger 81 is provided on the back of arm 84 which is mounted on the presser foot. Bay 88 is thereby formed between said arm 84 and its said backwardly extending finger 81 which registers with needle hole 58 when the feed dog-is in position to receive the needle. It is through said bay 88 and said hole 58 that the needle projects in its passage through leather.30 and binding 3|.

It has above been stated that bracket 81 is ad'- justably mounted on the skid member of the presser foot by means of screws 80. These screws project into the skid member through a slot 83 formed in said bracket 8|. It will clearly be seen in Fig. 24 that the shank of each screw is considerably smaller in diameter than slot 83 is wide. It will also be seen in Fig. 6 that the slot is considerably longer than the distance between the two screws 80 and further that there is considerable clearance at the end of each screw.- It will, therefore, be understood that the bracket may be adjusted both forwardly and backwardly and also sidewardly by simply loosening the screws and shifting the bracket accordingly. This adjustable feature is intended to compensate for variations in the thickness and stiffness of the work, and also to adjust for differences in the type of stitch.

The foregoing is a preferred form of this invention and it will be clear that modifications and variations may be incorporated therein within the broad scope and spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Apparatus in association with a sewing machine for forming French cord" bindings, said apparatus including a throat plate having a groove formed therein to receive a sheet of material and a strip of binding, said groove being shaped to fold said binding around the edge of said sheet of material, a feed dog mounted for horizontal and vertical movement with respect to said throat plate, said feed dog having conventional material-engaging teeth on its top face, and a plurality of binding-engaging teeth formed on one side of said feed dog for engagement with the binding when the feed dog moves vertically in upward direction and horizontally in the direction of feed, whereby the binding is drawn taut around the edge of the material, and a presser foot functioning in cooperation with said feed dog, said presser foot having a channel formed therein to receive the sheet of material with its binding drawn tightly around its edge, and to hold said material and said binding in tight condition thereon in operative position for the stitching operation. I

2. In sewing machine apparatus for folding a binding around the edge of a sheet of material to form a French cord binding, a feed dog mounted for vertical movement relative to the sheet of material, said feed dog having conventional material-engaging teeth on its top face, said feed dog having a plurality of binding-engaging teeth on one side thereof for engagement with the binding when the feed dog moves vertically in upward direction, whereby the binding is drawn taut around the edge of the material.

3. In sewing machine apparatus for folding a binding around the edge of a sheet of material to form a French cord binding, a feed dog mounted for vertical movement relative to the sheet of material, said feed dog having conven- "gaging teeth on one side thereai for engagement; mike-binding whemth'e iieelzlz dog.:moves: vent? callyimupwam direction; whereby the binding is:

j a1}. an" engle in the Qppqsite faceetherenf efieefi: an rolling of the-binding amlmd the; edge: of the,

1 material'upon .takeeupl of the stitches formed-t by aroundaltheedge oithemaaterlal saidr 7 facing: upwardly; and being 'inclineck' 3.1.4811

mlemfappmxrmately 25$ oitzthehcrizental;

4. Inlanappmtusv'forviurmlng French; warm" bindings on a piece of material, the; comb'maztiam with the vertically recipznacating needle; ef-esew- V a. member ior guiding the edgeroi the matetialabeing. sewmlsazict member zbefltgdiszposed directlym ftontmf the needle; with respect to-.the:alineaofi stitehingt beingimmed. thereby'am k. bei-ngpmvidefi with zazr malterial/ emi binding :re: V ceivmgz groave, thew-ans of? the groove being parallel-with airplane dispowct intermediatethe hnrtzdntaband. the vertical, the-,plane. of. said the sewingropemtian the needle... 1

V JOSEPH REFERENCES.- cnmn The fbllowi-ng referenees are-0f recerd' in th file of this patent:

UNITED STATES. EA'I'EN'ITSv Number.- Name- Date.

.1 16,195 J mid. at al. Jlmeflfl, 13:71 1,214,133 Chalman l. -;J 30; 1917" 1,291,235 Strobeck" Jan.- 14. 1919; 1,326,026 Chalman Dee. 23,; 1919 1,919,942 Havel 1.... J=u1yF-25, 1933 1,998,022 Moran Apr." 16 .1935; 2,052,122v Sailer 4 119.25. 1936: 2,133,.100; I-Iinman: M10101; 1&1938. 2,282,042 

